Goldenrock

Goldenrock is more commonly known as Yellowstone. But the kids have a hard time remembering that, for some reason they seem to remember it as Goldenrock.

This was our first time ever seeing this magical place. At least it was the first time for the kids and I, Rory had been before when he was much younger. For about 6 years I have been asking to go, every year when Rory asks me what I want for my birthday I say I want Yellowstone and finally my wish was granted! It was everything I could have ever wanted and more, a place I will never forget and I know we will return to soon. We didn't even scrape the surface on what this wonderful piece of earth has to offer.
Our first stop was... well, it was some town in Idaho. I cant remember the name, I think it was something like Henryville?? Either way, it was one of the smallest towns I have ever been in. We got a late start and decided to pull over for the night to sleep and start early the next morning. At first it was cute, so cute!! The little houses, the little church (that is where we slept, in the parking lot) the little people. Then around 2 am I hear a car pull up. We were sleeping in our camping trailer and you can hear pretty much everything outside. Anyway, no big deal, they just drive by really slowly then move on. Then around 3 am. a truck pulls up and shines his lights on us, looks for a minute or two then drives on by. Then 4 am. same truck, does the same dang thing. By this point I am trying to wake Rory up so he knows whats going on. But trying to wake Rory up is impossible! So there I am, wide awake and pretty terrified, just staring out the window as this truck drives by slowly every single hour. As soon as I saw the sun I couldn't handle it anymore and I woke everyone up and got the hell out of that cute little town! It was like something in a scary movie.

Next stop, BEAR WORLD!! duh! We saw bears of every shape and size. I had never really seen them up so close. It was a fun experience. Rori Ana would scream every-time she saw one and say "TEDDY BEARS SAY GRRRRRRR!!!!" It was pretty cute.

Then we went to the petting zoo....

We rode on some fun rides and Rori Ana and Ava got to go on their first roller coaster!! They are addicted now and I don't know that I have ever seen Rori Ana so happy?!

Next we went for a drive through the park, like I said we didn't make it far but from what I saw this was one of the most beautiful places on earth. I feel so lucky to have seen it.

Jameson... the chipmunk whisperer.

We went for a dip in the river. It was very COLD!

We saw some geyser's... It is amazing to see what the earth is ooozing! I could not believe the colors, textures and smells!

Thar she blows!! We got to see Old Faithful do her thing, that was so neat!!!

We had a little traffic jam because this guy had somewhere more important to be.

We went swimming in a lake, again it was very, very cold! But the kids don't mind.

We got some fishing in. On this day we didn't catch any fish and just as we were about to wrap it up I saw something go flapping down the river. It was a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest!!! Immediately Jameson ran down stream to catch this poor baby bird that was drowning. Rory on the other hand took some convincing. I kept yelling at him to run and go help but he didn't really want to chase a bird down the river. Then I gave him "the look" and he knew if he didn't save that bird he would need some saving himself.

Then I was a little lost on what to do with this baby bird. I have hand raised birds before but this bird had already been raised by its mother for too long and I could tell he wouldn't take to hand feeding very easily. His best bet was to just stay near his nest. Then all of a sudden I noticed a frantic mama bird flying around an empty nest, under a bridge. Well, I wasn't about to walk out into this freezing water, plus I knew I wouldn't be able to reach the nest anyhow. I gave Rory another look, like a desperate pleading look. He gave me an irritated look and then I had to explain to him that if he didn't return this baby back to his mama then we would be going home with a bird. So he hiked up his shorts and again he got into the cold river. I love that man. He has so much patience with me and my craziness.

Come on, you know it is sexy when a man goes out of his way to rescue a little baby bird. And look at those thighs!!! Don't deny the sexiness of it!! And thanks to his little helper Chanel all was well again. Immediately the mama bird flew over and laid on her baby to warm him back up and she looked so relieved and happy to have him back. Job well done!!

I loved Goldenrock and I cant wait to go back! I love being outdoors, being with the family, camping and eating outside, hiking, fishing and watching the kids and Rory swim from the sunny forest. I loved being surrounded by such beauty.